PLANO, TX--(Marketwire - Mar 27, 2013) - The Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute (PBMI) will host its first Regional Rx Benefit Forum in downtown Chicago at the Hyatt Regency hotel, April 29-30, 2013. Rising costs associated with specialty pharmacy, prescription drug abuse, and behavioral health make up a significant and growing portion of a plan sponsor's drug spend. This Forum will provide attendees with two days of focused education on strategies that can be used to effectively manage these costs and will discuss solutions for other drug benefit challenges across the pharmacy and medical benefit.

PBMI is dedicated to providing Forums for purchasers to exchange ideas and promote best practices that improve pharmacy benefits and control costs. This meeting provides another opportunity for attendees to come together and learn from leaders in the industry. "Employers are looking for tested solutions that can be discussed in an intimate setting where best practices can be shared," says Brenda Motheral, PhD, Executive Director of PBMI. "This Forum is focused on sharing tested solutions for today's most significant pharmacy benefit challenges." The two-day program will include:

Acase study of how Tyson Food, Inc. implemented an innovation strategy to decrease total pharmacy spend resulting in a negative 8% pharmacy trend

A leading pharmacy benefit consult discussion of evolving trends in pharmacy management related to service delivery models, pricing and contracting arrangements, and vendor coordination

A review of the most significant pharmacy benefit trends for 2013, including the future of 340B, and savings from limited networks

Specialty pharmacy management strategies including site of care for specialty drugs, best practices in cost sharing and UM, specialty medical management, and trends in oncology practice

A case study of behavioral health treatment, which involved an aggressive tailored patient prescription intervention program